Staten Island Railway commuters will get a brand new park-and-ride lot to leave their cars and hop on the train tomorrow, after the new Prince's Bay park and ride was unveiled this morning.

The 28-spot parking lot runs along the railway tracks, tucked in the woods at the back of Herbert Street, off Seguine Avenue.

Commuters can park there for free, but must now walk back out along Herbert to enter the train station from Seguine. A staircase is being constructed that will eventually connect the lot right to the platform. The stairs are expected to be completed by Labor Day. An ADA-accessible curved path will follow later and should be in place by the end of the year.

After another larger site didn't pan out because it was located on city parkland, City Councilman Vincent Ignizio scouted out the location of the new lot while scouring Google Earth maps looking for a good candidate.

The lot is the result of a partnership between the Railway, which owns the land, and the city's Department of Transportation, which paved it, installed guard rails, and signage. New lighting was also installed to illuminate the lot.

"The key is to take advantage of every way we can find to improve the attractiveness and reliability of our service," said Railway Chief John Gaul. "Finding additional space to find parking, even in small lots like this, is very high on our priority list," he said.

The lot is welcome news to Prince's Bay Pharmacy owner Bob Baker, who has had to chase commuters out of his parking lot when they tried to leave their cars and hop on the train.

Borough DOT Commissioner Tom Cocola said about a dozen cars have been parking along Herbert already, and once the word gets out about the new lot, the number of vehicles should steadily grow.

"Everywhere you go, people are complaining about traffic, traffic, traffic," said Borough President James Molinaro. "This is another example of taking traffic off the street and getting people to mass transit."

Ignizio said the new lot will give Island commuters a place to park closer to home to take advantage of mass transit, instead of driving to Manhattan. The Railway is a great bargain, reliable, and is faster than sitting in traffic, he added.

"The message is, leave your car in your local neighborhood at our park and rides and jump on the train or express bus," he said. "It's safe, reliable, faster and cheaper than driving your own car, not to mention better for our environment."

While the new lot is an accomplishment, Ignizio said he's focusing on pushing for more spaces for South Shore commuters -- 722 to be exact, including the new Herbert lot -- with an expansion of the Huguenot park and ride on tap, as well as at the Eltingville Transit Center, and another area in the works at Arthur Kill Road and Huguenot Avenue.